Messages

I remember posting here under a different name during the early noughties in a previous incarnation of the board, that I was concerned about over exposure of the GAA where interest would wear off because of so many televised games and once the novelty of the qualifiers wore off.  If anyone thinks that attendances will bottom out, just look at the history of the Railway Cup which attracted huge numbers in the 1950s and 60s.  Now they are lucky to attract a couple of hundred spectators. Maintaining good attendances isn't inevitable and at the minute the GAA seems to be focusing on growing the number of attendances by growing the number of games, instead of increasing the numbers per game. 

There are several things that are doing untold damage at the moment:

• Football not as good to watch.  Think back to the early 90's with Bernard Flynn, Mickey Linden and James McCartan sprinting out to the wing to win long angled balls, turning their man and running at goal.  One of the delights of football that is resigned to history.  Now, its pass the ball laterally to someone running in an arc from the sideline - repeat ad naseum.  The product is not as good.  Either we go to 13 aside or change the technical rules to stop defensive play.  However, that will lead to more hammerings, which is the second problem.
• Hammerings - too many of them - look at Cahir O'Kane's article in today's Irish News.  Bang on the money.  The best teams are getting better and harder to defend against.  Not even Dublin fans want to see the Dubs beat Westmeath by 20pts.  No entertainment value in that.  GAA need to spend money creating a level playing field.  Dublin do not need any more money given their natural advantage in sponsorship and sheer numbers. 
• Half empty stadia - This is one thing the GAA can do something about.  Playing a game that will attract 20,000 in Croke Park is stupid.  There is no atmosphere in the ground and it looks rubbish on TV.  Yet they continue to do this. Instead, why not bring these games to Newbridge etc.  Big demand for tickets and rockin atmosphere in the ground. 

It's such a tight schedule this year, a threat of legal action that would delay the championship is surely the only thing left that would focus the minds of the hierarchy at this point. They've comprehensively lost the PR battle, the bullshit talk of possible "animosity" between the fans outside Newbridge is - for me personally - so, so disappointing to hear, I'm disgusted with them to be very honest. That is not my experience of 99% of GAA fans.

I'm someone who would have defended the GAA strongly on many issues in the face of (sometimes warranted, other times completely unwarranted) huge criticism from other Irish people who basically wish it didn't exist. It's very hard to accept some of the rhetoric coming from the top about this and it'll be very hard to defend accusations of "Grab All Association" if Kildare are thrown out of the championship so the GAA could just make some more money off the back of one of the best supported counties in the country.

Fair f**ks to Kildare GAA on this, I hope they are not forced into a climb-down, although if the press conference at 5pm has been cancelled who knows what the next development will be.

Totally agree on this.  I hope they don't back down - the GAA "Civil Service" in Croke Park could do with a reminder on whose behalf they are in those paid positions.  The trouble is that the GAA is a democratic organisation and I'm wondering if we as members have let it get into this state by sheer combination of failing to hold club & county delegates to account, failure to read briefings and not taking ownership of this drift away from grassroots!

Not a Tyrone man, so don't care what McCurry is doing, but is it not time the GAA put a stop to this by banning transfers in the middle of the year. 

[Westmeath v Armagh could go either way]

the full list

Derry vs Kildare
Meath v Tyrone
Louth v London
Wicklow v Cavan
Offaly v Antrim
Mayo v Limerick
Westmeath v Armagh
Wexford v Waterford

Derry v Kildare and Meath v Tyrone the tie of the rounds. Think London will be at home. Cavan should get back to winning way. Offaly Antrim could go either way. Mayo blessed in a qualifier draw again, Westmeath v Armagh could go either way and Wexford should beat Waterford.

What's the TV coverage likely to be for this - just one live?

Derry v Kildare the pick of the round for me. Very hard to call.
Westmeath v Armagh also hard to call. And Meath v Tyrone is the other game I'd like to see, even though not a whole heap of doubt about how it would go, but Meath might have a kick in them yet.

First named teams at home unless a D1/2 team playing D3/D4? If so,

Derry v Kildare - Derry
Meath v Tyrone - Tyrone
London v Louth - London
Wicklow v Cavan - Cavan
Offaly v Antrim - Who knows
Limerick v Mayo - Mayo
Westmeath v Armagh - Westmeath
Wexford v Waterford - Wexford

Don't let our performance v Fermanagh fool you. We'll be coming out of Mullingar with a win.

That's my version of Milltown Row's reverse psychology

Ah no, I think Westmeath in Mullingar will be tough again for ye, and their defences will be up after yer shocking behaviour last time around

Lads, we've lost half our squad from last year, this one won't be close, we're in free fall. And if our defences were going to be up after the shocking behaviour on and off the pitch last year we wouldn't have rolled over in the league. See it's been fixed for Saturday June 9 at 7pm, I'm sure there'll be a motion to the council for the town to treat the day like a travellers wedding and to keep the pubs shut. 

I had to get up and leave my seat after 5 minutes of the first half last year and stand beside a crowd of Westmeath hallions at the back wall. 

The reason?

Two wimmin who gave a running commentary on the antics of the brutish Northern players! They weren't loud or vulgar - it was a bit like a couple of oul biddies from Glenroe, talking about drug dealers, young fellas drinking and fighting on the street and young girls showing too much flesh!

Literally!
Would you look at that there now! Isn't that disgusting Mary.
I don't think they came here to play football at all Nuala!
Isn't it just disgraceful. Dirty, Dirty, Dirty!

A few minutes of that was enough for me!!

No-one bothers ironing cows these days!

Howdy!! Thinking of taking up residence here next year.  I hear there's a big clear out and half the locals are gonna blow town!!

I wish RTE would just get off their arses and do it. The Irish language stuff is still a massive bore on TG4 and severely limits the audience too. Benefits no one.

Possibly one of the stupidest posts I've ever read. 

Does anyone go to D3 or D4 games?

Ye spent six years till 2014 between Division 3 and 4! You'd know plenty about the attendances!

Croke Park premium and corporate tickets are sold with the commitment that all AIQF onwards are played in CP. Maybe football league finals are the same?

About time it stopped!

[Not as good to watch]

It's a number of things:
Not as good to watch
The blanket means that as a spectacle the game isn't as good.  I don't care what anyone says, but this business of passing the ball around in an arc around the 50 is not as good to watch as quick ball into a the full forward line, with guys like Mickey Linden, Marsden, Canavan and McDonnell out in front of their marker and taking on their men.  We just don't see as much of this in today's game as 2001.

Perception and negativity
Why would I be bothered going to games if the so-called experts keep telling me that the product is rubbish.  Notwithstanding what I have said above, I still get a kick out of watching football and we still have some fantastic games, but when the very pundits that you would expect to be promoting the game on TV are saying that every game is shite, it's little wonder attendances are falling.  The amount of negativity surrounding the games is at an all time high and it is now in vogue at all levels, from pundits down to club level, to criticise county football. 

Hammerings
In 2001 there were some hammerings, but I don't think there were so many as there are now.  Leinster was competitive.  Ulster, despite the fact that two teams dominated from 1999 to 2010, was still competitive.  Dublin matches now literally aren't worth watching until they reach the Semi-Final or Final.  They are playing at a professional level.   

Over Exposure
I remember thinking that with so many games televised and so much coverage back around 04, that supporters would lap it up for a while, but that eventually people would take it for granted and less would do them. Take the first Ulster Final that went to HQ in 2004.  There was 60,000 there.  Only 30,000 for the Ulster Final Replay in '05.  The qualifier effect was alive and well, with Sligo, Fermanagh, Limerick, Derry, Donegal getting good runs.  There were loads of novel pairings - I remember Sligo and Kildare I think attracting a great crowd on a Saturday night around '04.

Half Empty Stadiums
There is rarely a decent atmosphere in a half-full Croke Park.  It looks terrible on TV and exacerbates the notion that we have a poor product.  I cannot understand organisers taking smallish games to big stadiums.  Better to have a small ground filled to capacity, because the atmosphere is all part of the product.

What about the Minor Football manager then too? And while you're at it, what about the club secretary and treasurer.

so, you think its ok to give travel expenses to the football manager but not the hurling manager?
I think there should be rule. Either managers get travel expenses or they don't; don't pick and choose which do and which dont

I think two wrongs don't make a right. I wouldn't be giving expenses to anyone, because it leads to resentment.  If you are in it for the right reasons, you won't be asking for expenses in the first place.  But if Jim finds Jack is getting expenses and he's not, then Jim willl turn into a greedy bastid and want £££ too. 

What about the Minor Football manager then too? And while you're at it, what about the club secretary and treasurer.

I put up a very long post (http://gaaboard.com/board/index.php?topic=28388.0) about this a week ago and it attracted a couple of equally long responses, but not the debate that I wanted. 

The point I made was that once someone starts getting payments or expenses, then you're on the slippery slope.  Other volunteers think, why not me, or f@*k this.  Clubs pay senior managers, but I have never heard of a club paying even expenses to minor managers or whoever's looking after the U-16s.  Are they entitled to expenses also? Where does it stop. 

Why should anyone get paid to do something which is effectively a hobby.  Answer, because they are getting offered money? Next question; why is there a market for this? Answer; because no-one has done anything to stop it and there shouldn't be a market for club managers.  Its a racket folks!

You're proud enough of it or ye wouldn't have told the story 

[club peasantry]

Serious subject and nobody biting at all!  Ewan McKenna had an interesting article in yesterday's Independent - proposing Brolly as the new DG.  A lot of the views expressed are the backdrop to much of the concerns that I raised in the OP. However, it once again falls into this notion that county football and the associated elitism is the source of all ills:

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/ewan-mackenna-why-the-gaa-needs-joe-brolly-at-the-helm-as-the-new-directorgeneral-36461713.html

Couple of quotes from McKenna's article:

"Instead we have Sky deals, GPA handouts, club peasantry, rural isolation and fixture chaos, with almost all of it down to a gearing towards those best off"

"This is a time to again credit the GAA volunteer in reality and not just rhetoric, and to put the majority first. It's a time to put pressure on and influence a society rotting before us and all for the benefit of a spoiled minority. Is that not a massive opportunity?"

Do we want a debate about one of the biggest elephants in the room, the very gradual erosion of the volunteer ethos right across the GAA - or are we going to just focus on the problems at county level!!